b'Finding work & making applicationsYourproFEssionalonlinEprEsEncEMore than ever now, the world is workingonline, your online presence matters! professional online presence Manage your digital footprintSocial media and the global pandemic has Youve probably heard this many times before,rapidly changing the way students look for work. but its so important to be mindful of theBusinesses are increasingly looking up photographs and text that you share online. Atcandidates online at various stages in the the very least, take a look at any existing socialrecruitment cycle,so its a good idea to spend media profiles you might have, and think aboutsome time working on your online presence. what message they send to employers.Why social media matters in your job hunt Put your name into a search engine and see whatSocial media oers great opportunities to show results come upis there anything you wouldntwhere your interests lie and display your career want an employer to see? focus. Many employers are too busy to look up \x02 Take control of your online presence by every candidate, but a growing number of spending some time reviewing and, where employers do look up prospective employees necessary, improving the privacy of your online, before meeting someone for interview or Facebook profile, so that employers cant before oering someone a job. Even once you read any posts that might undermine your have get to the stage where you have secured a professional image. new role, your new colleagues might look you up \x02 Do also check the privacy settings on online to get a sense of who the new team photographs and ensure that nothing member will be. incriminating is in the public sphere. For all of these reasons, and many more, its \x02 If youre on Twitter, read through your tweetsimportant to manage your online profiles so that and consider deleting any that might create ayou can put your best foot forward at all stages negative impression.of the job search and hiring process. From Whichever online platform you use, be itcarefully guarding your posts right through to blogging or Instagram or an online forum, alwayscreating dynamic online profiles that paint a think before hitting post. If you suspect thatprofessional picture of you, there are many ways the item youre about to share could be a bit tooin which you can make sure that your online edgy for some employers tastes, think twicepresence works for you. before clicking.46'